


linger (like a tattoo kiss)

by twiceinamillion



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Not K-Pop Idols, Angst, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Light Angst, Requited Love, Romance, michaeng
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:20:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,673
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26030302
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twiceinamillion/pseuds/twiceinamillion
Summary: chaeyoung sneaks out of her house to meet mina.it's the first time they're talking in... well, a while.(blame chaeyoung's homophobic parents.)so... well, they talk.alternate title: i knew you'd haunt all of my what-ifs
Relationships: Myoui Mina/Son Chaeyoung
Kudos: 42





	linger (like a tattoo kiss)

her steps are quiet.

without a sound, chaeyoung tiptoes across the floor, swiping her phone from the counter.

a flick of her finger renders it soundless as well.

she takes the house keys from her bag, holding them tightly in her palm so the metal doesn’t click and jangle against itself, the keys cold against her warm hands.

and she steps towards the door, keys in hand, ready to head out-

_and, a noise._

chaeyoung tenses up.

waiting _._

her mind races with possible excuses - she could always say she wanted a midnight snack and her favourites weren’t in the cupboard at the moment.

she could say she just couldn’t sleep and wanted to go out for a walk.

but that would beg the question of “if you couldn’t sleep why didn’t you just use your phone?” which she couldn’t explain.

so she waits, frozen, words swirling around inside her head, a mess.

though, isn’t she always a mess?

then she hears a snore.

she relaxes, shoulders untensing.

and silently, chaeyoung unlocks the door, pushes it open, and slips out into the night.

* * *

**chaebberry:**

i’m out  
(not that way tho hehe)  
u there?

**pingumina:**

yep alr there  
can’t wait for you to be here <3

**chaebberry:**

love you babe

**pingumina:**

love you too uwu

with a soft smile, chaeyoung places her phone back into her pocket.

* * *

she steps through the metal park gates, typing a quick message to the other girl.

**chaebberry:**

i’m here :D

and a figure in the far corner of the garden looks up, towards her.

time stops.

and joy permeates the air as she runs towards the other girl, arms outstretched.

the sound of excited footsteps on grass, early morning dew dripping into the soil.

a grey hoodie slipping off to reveal onyx-black hair, fringes and tips dyed a greenish blonde.

and hands meet, two pairs of palms clasped together, tight, as if neither of them are ever going to let go.

“mina,” chaeyoung whispers.

“you’re here.”

the older girl smiles, and though they’ve been apart, separated for so long, chaeyoung knows she can never forget that stunning smile.

the way her eyes crinkle, sparkling in the light – she wouldn’t give it up for anything.

and mina gives her girlfriend’s hands a little squeeze, beaming like the sun.

“why wouldn’t i be?”

at that moment all the younger girl can think is that mina’s palms are _warm_ , like a bonfire in the november cold, as if she’s the only source of heat in a world long since frozen over (and maybe she is, because chaeyoung’s thick hoodie’s doing barely anything to stop the chill from seeping into her bones).

she shivers.

“are you cold?”

(apparently, mina has _very_ keen eyes.)

the older girl, seemingly already prepared, takes out a scarf from her bag (with a pattern on it that chaeyoung can recognize from one of mina’s favourite video games) and, tenderly, wraps it around her girlfriend’s neck, tucking it in and giving it a little pat once she’s done.

chaeyoung thinks she’s never felt this lesbian in her entire life.

“i’d be warmer if you cuddled me,” she manages to joke through the dazzling haze of gay panic, and mina lets out a giggle that’s just oh-so-cute and god, she just wants to squish her cheeks.

“come on, then,” mina smiles, taking chaeyoung’s hand, honeyed warmth soaking like sunshine into her palm with just that single touch.

she leads her to the park bench, the older girl’s oversized cardigan brushing against the younger girl’s arm, soft and gentle.

and they sit down, together, chaeyoung leaning against her girlfriend, sinking into her, fabric soft against her skin.

mina’s hand moves to rest on the younger girl’s shoulder.

“i’m glad you’re here,” chaeyoung murmurs.

the older girl smiles, softly, calmly. “i’m glad i’m here too.”

the younger girl’s eyes struggle to close, the weight of the day getting to her, tiredness like a burden upon her back – or, well, her eyelids, trying to pull them shut.

she yawns.

“it’s okay if you want to sleep,” mina murmurs. “we can stay here however long you like.”

chaeyoung looks up at her. “you don’t have anything on tomorrow?”

the older girl pauses.

then a hesitant “no.”

the younger girl lets out a soft laugh.

“babe… someday, i’m going to teach you how to lie properly.”

her hand casts a shadow under the dim streetlight as she gives the other girl a gentle poke.

“i’m sure you have something on tomorrow. you don’t need to stay here with me - you know that, right?”

“it’s not like i don’t want to spend time with you, though,” mina counters, smiling at her girlfriend’s giggle.

“aww,” chaeyoung cooes, shifting so her head rests on the older girl’s lap.

casually, she puts her legs up on the park bench, her feet dangling off awkwardly, but she doesn’t mind – not when mina’s staying by her side.

unwavering mina, right beside her, the steady rock to chaeyoung’s flowing water, the anchor to her sailing ship.

unwavering mina…

unwavering, loveable, _beautiful mina…_

_…minari…_

as her thoughts fade out into the void, chaeyoung’s eyes drift shut ever so slowly, the dull light of the streetlamp above fading to a dim glow in her vision, and then…

nothing.

and it’s only the faint hint of a giggle from mina, the slightest shift of her girlfriend’s body beneath her head that wakes her up once again.

“ah,” she murmurs awkwardly, a sheepish smile on her face. “sorry.”

the older girl shakes her head. “it’s fine, you must be tired.”

tilting her head back on mina’s (soft) lap, chaeyoung looks up into the night sky, the moon shining serenely above – so far away, and yet ever-present.

she yawns.

subconsciously, so does mina.

_ah, right, she wanted to tell mina something,_ chaeyoung remembers.

“uh,” she murmurs. “by the way.”

“i’m sorry we couldn’t meet up for so long.”

mina’s voice quietens, reduced to a restrained whisper.

“it’s… not your fault.”

“i mean, i guess it isn’t. not really, at least…” the younger girl trails off. “but yknow. _my_ parents dont approve, and all that.”

her girlfriend nods, hesitantly.

chaeyoung pauses.

“sorry, uh, crap. i ruined the mood, didn’t i?”

“no, no,” the older girl shakes her head slightly. “it’s fine. at least we can stay here, right?”

“yeah. even if it’s a-“ chaeyoung gestured at the moon above them- “once in a blue moon opportunity.”

“and your parents suck,” mina grins, though there’s a melancholic tinge to her smile, as if reality’s punches had left a mark there, left a burden that dragged down the corners of her lips and veiled the true beauty of her smile.

“well, there’s not much i can do about that.”

chaeyoung shrugs, from her position on mina’s lap.

she closes her eyes as she yawns.

“i mean,” the older girl’s voice comes from above her, “there’s always this.”

“what do you mean?”

chaeyoung, confused, opens her eyes.

and there’s a flower right in front of her face.

“take this,” mina says, placing the fragile daisy in her hand.

chaeyoung laughs. “you know you’re not supposed to pluck flowers, right?”

“it doesn’t matter, just take it!” the older girl smiles. “then it’s like i’ll always be with you, right?”

“aww,” chaeyoung cooes. “that’s cute!”

a blush blooms on mina’s cheeks, like a flower – like the flower she’d just put in her girlfriend’s hand.

“if you say so,” the older girl murmurs, flustered.

* * *

so they sit together, chaeyoung’s head resting on mina’s thighs, making conversation, laughing together, until at some point the phone in the younger girl’s rings quietly with the alarm she’d set.

it’s 5am.

she knows, her parents wake up at 6.

chaeyoung’s shoulders sag visibly, a sigh escaping her lips.

“aw… i have to go.”

“oh.” mina, barely hiding disappointment, says.

“then… i guess this is goodbye?”

“uh, i’ll try to arrange another one of these ‘meetups’.”

chaeyoung quickly avoids the question, knowing the answer would only be disappointing.

“it should be easier, now that i know when my parents go to sleep and wake up.”

“aww,” mina sighs. “i wish we had a little longer to talk, though.”

“so do i,” chaeyoung yawns as she sits up from her girlfriend’s lap.

“but beggars can’t be choosers, i guess.”

“i guess so,” the older girl nods slightly.

* * *

they stand up from the park bench, mina taking her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, and chaeyoung gives her back her scarf.

“bye,” she murmurs, adjusting her hoodie so the hood covers her half-bleached hair once again.

“see you, then,” the older girl shrugs, her smile a melancholy one, bittersweet, tinged with sadness.

then all of a sudden, mina’s eyes flash with something unknown, something that chaeyoung can’t decipher-

and, in one fluid motion, the older girl takes chaeyoung’s hand, and presses her lips onto the tattoo below her wrist, the tattoo of strawberry-esque lips.

her kiss is ethereal and soft, soft like chaeyoung’s tattooed, lip-marked skin.

the feeling of it, of mina’s lips against her arm, lingers, ephemeral yet unforgettable, and chaeyoung, stunned, can only stare at the older girl as her ears turn as red as her cheeks.

lingering, like how she wishes she could linger here with mina, just a little longer.

but she can’t.

“goodbye, then,” says mina.

and with the daisy clasped gently in her hand, all chaeyoung can do is say goodbye once again and turn around, her mind wanting, urging her to pull the other girl close, kiss her a hundred, a million, an _uncountable_ number of times.

she can’t help but imagine it, her mind running wild, and she knows the feeling of their lips together would be like- like a miracle, like a blessing-

like a _curse_.

and she shakes her thoughts away as they turn sour in her mind.

“bye,” she waves to mina instead.

mina waves back.

“bye.”

and once again, they go their separate ways, the faint spectres of memories and ‘wrong’ feelings lingering around them – never to disappear.

**Author's Note:**

> me? self projecting? haha of course not! what could make you think that i-  
> yeah anyways you get the point, lmao :PPP 
> 
> taylor swift lyrics as the title? you know i got it ;D  
> speaking of which, this was also kind of inspired by love story? like the lyrics "i sneak out to the garden to see you / we keep quiet cuz we're dead if they knew / so close your eyes / escape this town for a little while" is,, essentially the base of this fic.
> 
> anw i hope you liked this! and if you want to, do check out [my tumblr](https://2wice-in-a-million.tumblr.com) !! i post more updates there :D


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